Kathleen Curran

Vice President, Communications

Detroit, September 20, 2016 —

The Mars Agency announces that Tammy Brumfield, SVP Retail Marketing Practice Leader,
Kris Abrahamson, VP Client Leadership and Maureen O’Hare, VP Growth & Connections,
have been named to the inaugural class of Women of Excellence, which recognizes 132 brand marketing, retail and agency professionals for effectively influencing shoppers along the path to purchase. They will be celebrated at a reception during the 2016 Path to Purchase Expo tomorrow night.

Hired by The Mars Agency earlier this year, Brumfield, a veteran of ConAgra Foods, spent the last 13 years leading its shopper marketing and retail innovation teams, across all U.S. channels, and driving increased shopper conversion and growth. Since joining The Mars Agency, she has successfully advanced its already best-in-class retail, shopper insights and innovation capabilities.

Ms. Abrahamson, hired in 2014, and currently leading a number of client engagements, brings 20-plus years of experience in the consumer packaged goods industry, including manufacturer-side positions in shopper marketing and shopper innovation at PepsiCo’s Global Nutrition Group, Sara Lee and Kraft Foods. Unique to the industry, Kris has been an adjunct professor at NYU, where she co-developed the first shopper marketing curriculum for the university. She is also a current and long-standing faculty member at the Path to Purchase Institute, where she trains senior brand executives in the discipline of shopper marketing and how it applies to their respective businesses.

Ms. O’Hare, hired in early 2015, joined after various senior client leadership, channel marketing and shopper marketing positions at Moxie, Momentum Worldwide, Acosta Sales & Marketing and manufacturer, Georgia-Pacific. A member of the Who’s Who in Shopper Marketing in 2011, 2015 and 2016, she brings an unexpected point of view to cross-vertical clients, evident in her support of brands, Coca-Cola, Sony, General Mills, South Beach Diet and Heinz, across commerce channels.

“We are very proud of the work that Tammy, Kris and Maureen do and the recognition that they are receiving,” said Ken Barnett, Global CEO of The Mars Agency. “Importantly, they are just three of our 151 female employees (68% of our staff), leading the charge for innovation in the shopper and consumer marketing disciplines. My mother, Marilyn Barnett, was the first woman to open and lead a shopper marketing agency, which has grown into the leading shop it is today, recently named the #5 Most Effective Independent Agency in North America by the 2016 Effie Index. Maintaining a diverse profile was of utmost importance to her and to me. Women tend to be the decision makers for many of our Clients’ brands, which has always been reflective in our staffing profile.”

About The Mars Agency
The Mars Agency is a full-service, global shopper and consumer marketing leader, operating in 11 offices in North America and Europe. For nearly 45 years, the agency has been consistently recognized as a thought-leader and growth-driver in the shopper space, attracting an impressive client base which includes Walmart, Hallmark, Coca-Cola, Campbell’s and Pfizer.